Solvent free organic oligomers are proposed to replace water-based dental cement liquids. Those oligomers will be multifunctional for subsequent reaction with tooth structure, oxide fillers, and otyer organic groups to cause setting, adhesion to surfaces, and adhesion to filler particles. The oligomers will be hydrophobic to eliminate water solubility of the matrix phase of dental cements and to avoid hydration sensitivities of current dental cement formulations. The oligomers or prepolyumers will be liquid at room temperature and of sufficiently low viscosity to permit compounding with oxide fillers and wetting of adherends during cementation. The use of solvent free systems should circumvent aqueous diffusion of components prior to setting, eliminate concentration changes during storage or mixing, and generate set cements without solvent phases to plasticize the matrix phase or water soluble phases present in the matrix. Medium molecular weight (500-4500 gms/mole) oligomers are to be synthesized utilizing branched polyesters, linear phenol-formaldehyde condensates, and linear eugenol prepolymers as backbones for ortho-methoxyphenol substitution as reactive groups for subsequent crosslinking with divalent metal ions such as zinc. The choice for eugenolate types of chelation reaction is based on recent evidence that the celate is hydrolytically stable and capable of reaction with a variety of ionic species. The use of eugenol and eugenol-like compounds provides the advantage of reactivity at low viscosity. The biological tolerance of these materials should be well-accepted based on dental experience. The reaction of metal ion chelation is non-exothermic for all practical purposes. These oligomers will be synthesized, characterized physically, tested for metal ion reactivity, compounded into dental cements, and evaluated for resistance to solubility and disintegration.